The Latest: Mexico City mayor puts capital quake toll at 115

September 21, 2017

Rescue personnel work on a collapsed building, a day after a devastating 7.1 earthquake, in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2107. Efforts continue at the scenes of dozens of collapsed buildings, where firefighters, police, soldiers and civilians continue their search to reach the living. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Rescue personnel work on a collapsed building, a day after a devastating 7.1 earthquake, in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2107. Efforts continue at the scenes of dozens of collapsed buildings, where firefighters, police, soldiers and civilians continue their search to reach the living. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The latest on a major earthquake that has struck Mexico (all times local):

11:35 p.m.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera says a total of 115 people have died in the capital following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that shook the capital and nearby states.

That would bring the nationwide death toll to 245, based on an earlier federal government report counting 100 deaths in the capital and putting the overall number of confirmed deaths at 230.

Mexico City has suffered the highest death toll. But Mancera also said that two women and a man had been rescued alive from a collapsed office building late Wednesday, almost 36 hours after Tuesday’s midday quake.

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8:30 p.m.

Mexicans are cheering over rescues of earthquake survivors, including a man who was pulled alive from the rubble of a partly collapsed apartment block Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the quake.

But there was also a rescue of animals trapped in building wreckage from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that stunned central Mexico at midday Tuesday.

Mexico City police say rescue workers clearing rubble from a collapsed medical laboratory in the capital’s Roma neighborhood found and removed 40 lab rabbits and 13 lab rats in the pile of beams and rubble left by the quake.

City authorities also announced that quake victims staying at city shelters would be allowed to bring pets with them, and several community groups have started to collect donations of animal food for affected pets.

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8:15 p.m.

A heavy rain is falling at the collapsed school in Mexico City where rescue workers feel they are closer to rescuing at least one trapped child, more than a day after a magnitude 7.1 quake killed more than 230 people, at least 25 of them at the school.

The Wednesday night rain is threatening to add to the instability of a teetering pile of collapsed floors that are already barely propped up with hundreds of wooden beams.

Ambulances, doctors and medical equipment have been called into the rescue zone, suggesting they might be preparing to care for a victim.

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6 p.m.

Mexican federal authorities say the death toll from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that shook central Mexico has been raised to 230, after the number of confirmed dead in Mexico City rose to 100.

The nation’s capital bore the brunt of the deaths and damage in Tuesday’s quake, but it has also been the scene of dramatic rescues.

On Wednesday, a man who had spent more than 24 hours in the rubble of a partly collapsed apartment building was pulled alive from the precarious structure. The president of the borough where the first two floors of a multi-story building pancaked identified the man as Jose Luis Ponce.

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3:20 p.m.

Mexico’s federal disaster agency is adjusting its death toll from this week’s big earthquake.

National Civil Defense Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said in a tweet Wednesday that officials now count 223 dead — a reduction of two from the figure they gave earlier.

He now says 93 people have died in Mexico City, 69 in neighboring Morelos state, 43 in Puebla, 13 in the State of Mexico, four in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca.

Determining the number of casualties has been complicated by the diverse places where Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 quake hit and where victims were taken.

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2:10 p.m.

The Mexico City government says 52 people have been rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings in the capital following Tuesday’s powerful earthquake.

The city’s Social Development Department tweeted the number Wednesday afternoon and added: “We won’t stop.”

The quake has killed at least 225 people in several states, and rescue efforts are continuing furiously, including at a primary and secondary school where 25 bodies have been found and a young girl was located alive amid the rubble.

Workers have been trying to extricate her for hours now.

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12:45 p.m.

Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto says “every minute counts to save lives” of people under the rubble of buildings toppled by yesterday’s powerful earthquake.

Pena Nieto says the country’s highest priority is rescuing people in downed structures and treating the wounded. Earlier Wednesday he declared three days of national mourning in honor of the victims. At least 225 people died in the quake.

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12:10 p.m.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has declared three days of national mourning to honor victims of the 7.1 magnitude quake that has killed at least 225 people.

The official Twitter account for the office of the Presidency announces the declaration, saying that “Mexico shares your pain.”

Rescuers continue to dig through the rubble of homes, buildings and schools on Wednesday in a search for survivors of the previous day’s quake.

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11:50 a.m.

An analyst is warning of economic disruption in Mexico’s capital and other parts of central Mexico following this week’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Alfredo Coutino is Latin America director for Moody’s Analytics. He writes Wednesday that beyond the lives lost, buildings, roads and bridges were damaged and “most activities were interrupted in Mexico City.”

Coutino says it’s too early to estimate the extent of the damage, but “it is certain that economic activity ... will continue to be disrupted for some time.”

Coutino adds that while the government maintains a disaster fund, “public accounts may be impacted, depending on the extent of the damage and the financial relief available for the reconstruction.”

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11:40 a.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken to the president of Mexico in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that struck that country.

More than 220 people have been confirmed killed by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck Tuesday.

It is Mexico’s deadliest earthquake since 1985. Rescue workers are digging through rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings looking for survivors.

Trump received some criticism for waiting days to call Peña Nieto after a previous earthquake struck Mexico earlier this month.

Trump blamed it on the Mexican president’s poor cell service in a mountainous region.

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11 a.m.

The government of Panama says one of its citizens is among those killed by Mexico’s deadly earthquake.

The Foreign Ministry reports that a 55-year-old Panamanian woman who resided in Mexico City for the last 10 years died in a building that collapsed. A group of 35 Panamanian workers from the Red Cross, National Civil Defense and security agencies left Wednesday for Mexico to help with rescue efforts.

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10:20 a.m.

People in the Mexican city of Jojutla are mourning those killed by yesterday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Relatives held a wake on Wednesday for toddler Daniel Novoa and his aunt, Marta Cruz. Family members bent over a white, child-size coffin. A crucifix and two images of Mexico’s patron, the Virgin of Guadalupe, were placed above the child’s coffin and that of his aunt.

Another wake was held outdoors under a tarpaulin.

Police, firefighters and civilians are digging frantically through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings looking for survivors. With 225 confirmed dead so far, it is Mexico’s deadliest earthquake since 1985. Seventy-one were reported killed in the state of Morelos, where Jojutla is located, and the town appeared to be the most damaged part of the state.

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9:45 a.m.

Rescuers have located a child alive under the rubble of a Mexico City school that collapsed due to yesterday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Images broadcast by Mexican media show helmeted workers working at the debris at the Enrique Rebsamen school in a southern neighborhood of the capital.

Foro TV reports that the child is a girl. Rescuers spotted the child and shouted to her to move her hand if she could hear them, and she did. A search dog subsequently entered the wreckage and confirmed she was alive.

9:10 a.m.

The head of Mexico’s national civil defense agency says 225 people are now known to be dead due to the magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

Luis Felipe Puente posted a tweet Wednesday saying 94 are known dead in Mexico City, 71 in Morelos state, 43 in Puebla, 12 in the State of Mexico, four in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca.

He’d earlier listed 217 fatalities from the quake that hit southeast of Mexico City on Tuesday.

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7:15 a.m.

The Israeli military says it’s sending a 70-member delegation to Mexico to assist with rescue efforts following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus is a military spokesman who says the delegation is expected to arrive in Mexico on Thursday morning. He says the delegation’s main effort will be to provide engineering assistance.

Some 25 engineers make up the biggest component of the team. They will help survey and assess damage and determine whether buildings are safe. The team will also include search and rescue professionals, as well as support staff providing medical care and logistics.

Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was sending a rescue team in response to a request for assistance from Mexico. Netanyahu paid an official visit to Mexico last week.

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6:45 a.m.

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a Spanish national has been identified among the victims of Mexico’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

Officials aren’t yet identifying the person or giving more details.

Mexico’s civil defense director says that at least 217 people died in Tuesday’s quake. No other victims so far have been identified among the victims.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday sent a telegram to Mexico’s president offering help in rescue efforts.

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4:50 a.m.

Pope Francis has led tens of thousands of people in prayer for the victims of the Mexico earthquake.

Francis acknowledged many Mexican pilgrims were on hand for his weekly general audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square.

Speaking to them in Spanish, Francis add-libbed a prayer, saying: “In this moment of pain, I want to express my closeness and prayer to the dear Mexican people.” He urged prayers for victims, their families and rescue crews.

The 7.1 magnitude quake toppled schools, homes and apartment buildings and killed more than 200 people in the deadliest temblor to strike Mexico in decades.

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4:35 a.m.

The head of Mexico’s national Civil Defense Agency has lowered the number of confirmed dead in Tuesday’s earthquake to 217.

Luis Felipe Puente says on his Twitter account that at least 86 people died in Mexico City, 71 in Morelos state, 43 in Puebla, 12 in the State of Mexico, four in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca.

He gave no explanation for the lower toll after earlier reporting 248 confirmed deaths.

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4:10 a.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says it has received a request for assistance from Mexico following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, and that it will be dispatching a search-and-rescue team as soon as possible.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says a team of approximately 60 people, mostly engineers and search-and-rescue personnel from the military’s Home Front Command, will be dispatched Wednesday afternoon to assist in the aftermath of the earthquake, which is known to have killed almost 250 people.

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2:50 a.m.

Hundreds of volunteers, soldiers and police are digging and tunneling overnight into the precarious, pancaked ruins of a collapsed Mexico City school where at least 25 students and teachers were killed in a magnitude 7.1 quake.

Volunteer rescue worker Pedro Serrano, 29, a doctor, was one of the rescuers who managed to crawl into the crevices of the tottering pile of rubble that had been Escuela Enrique Rebsamen.

With barely room to move, in an intensely claustrophobic situation, Serrano managed to make it into a collapsed classroom — only to find all of its occupants dead.

“We dug holes, then crawled in on our bellies,” Serrano said.

“We managed to get into a collapsed classroom. We saw some chairs and wooden tables. The next thing we saw was a leg, and then we started to move rubble and we found a girl and two adults — a woman and a man.”

Asked if there was hope of finding anyone alive, Serrano looked weary but said workers were still trying despite the danger.

“We can hear small noises, but we don’t know if they’re coming from above or below, from the walls above (crumbling), or someone below calling for help.”

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2:30 a.m.

Police, firefighters and ordinary Mexicans are digging frantically through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings, looking for survivors of Mexico’s deadliest earthquake in decades as the number of confirmed fatalities climbed to 248.

Adding poignancy and a touch of the surreal, Tuesday’s magnitude-7.1 quake struck on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake that killed thousands. Just hours earlier, people around Mexico had held earthquake drills to mark the date.

One of the most desperate rescue efforts was at a primary and secondary school in southern Mexico City, where a wing of the three-story building collapsed into a massive pancake of concrete slabs. Journalists saw rescuers pull at least two small bodies from the rubble, covered in sheets.

A mix of neighborhood volunteers, police and firefighters used trained dogs and their bare hands to search through the school’s rubble. The crowd of anxious parents outside the gates shared reports that two families had received Whatsapp messages from girls trapped inside, but that could not be confirmed. The rescue effort was punctuated by cries of “Quiet!” so searchers could listen for any faint calls for help.